A laundromat in Decatur is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Forsyth — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide laundromats playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Decatur file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
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Decatur market
Selling a laundromat in Decatur
A laundromat in Decatur is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Forsyth — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide laundromats playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Decatur file.
Decatur is a Macon County agri-processing city: ADM and related plants, lake and river industry, and a downtown that serves a factory-and-farm MSA, not a campus.
Industrial-service and trucking books track plant schedules and union history. Forsyth’s Hickory Point retail strip is a different buyer than a Decatur plant-services file. Chicago PE is uncommon; environmental and customer-concentration work come before any multiple talk.
Decatur has about 70,522 residents in Macon County, inside the Decatur area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Forsyth, Mount Zion. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Forsyth is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Planning facts
Typical multiple
3x–5x SDE
Typical timeline
4–9 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
Macon County
Population
70,522
Metro
Decatur
Nearby comps
Forsyth, Mount Zion
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
Springfield, Bloomington-Normal, Decatur, and nearby county seats sell to operators who already know the trade area. State-vendor and campus calendars matter on some books.
File CBS-1 on time. Do not paste a Naperville multiple onto a Sangamon or McLean file.
Decatur demand for laundromats is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 70,522 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Laundromat in Decatur
What a Decatur buyer will underwrite on this laundromat
Retail in Decatur is lease, parking, and any local-control license — not a holiday week. Buyers already compare this corner to Forsyth, Mount Zion. Inventory must be salable goods.
Laundromats statewide typically plan around 3x–5x SDE and a 4–9 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Decatur shop. Buyers here usually argue machine age and condition, lease terms and rent vs revenue ratio, vend prices vs market, location density.
Closing clock for this Decatur file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: Municipal business licenses and plumbing/electrical permits for machine change-outs are the live items. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Decatur application of it.
In a major Illinois city like Decatur, owner-operators, semi-passive income investors are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Forsyth is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Buyer pool
Who buys a laundromat in Decatur
Industrial and owner-operator. Chicago PE is uncommon.
Illustration: a 32-washer unattended store in a Chicago neighborhood with mid-life machines, a card system, and a lease with seven years left. Not a closed sale.
A laundromat whose customers already sit in Forsyth, Mount Zion is a larger business than one that stops at the Decatur city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this Decatur laundromat
Laundromat recasts on vend collection after a market-rate attendant if the store is not truly unattended. Pull a card-system conversion year and any wash-dry-fold that is really the seller folding at night. Utility (gas, water, sewer) is the prime cost. A 3x–5x SDE band assumes machines that still have manufacturer support and a lease that does not reset the rent.
Illustration only — not a quote for any Decatur shop. A laundromat whose tax return shows $106,000 of net profit is not worth $106,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $66,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $21,500 of discretionary benefits, $14,500 of accepted one-time cost, and $16,000 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $34,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $190,000. At the planning range 3.0x–5.0x, enterprise value is $570,000 to $950,000. Mid-range 4.00x is $760,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Decatur buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 4.00 times $190,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $760,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.
SDE line items
Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
+ Interest expense
+ Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
+ Depreciation and amortization
+ Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
+ Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
+ Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
− Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
= Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Decatur laundromat — not a quote
Net profit
$106,000
Owner W-2
$66,000
Benefits
$21,500
One-time
$14,500
Personal
$16,000
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$34,000
Recast SDE
$190,000
Planning EV at 4.00x
$760,000
Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for laundromats.
Replacement labor is subtracted. This is a planning tool, not an appraisal.
Recast SDE—
Planning enterprise value—
Before debt, working-capital peg, holdback, and tax. Educational only.
Enter your annual Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business — to estimate a range.
$
1x3.0x8x
Estimated Value Range—to—
This is an estimate for planning purposes only. Actual value depends on lease terms, asset quality, customer concentration, and current market conditions. Request a professional valuation for a precise number.
Macon (Decatur) uses state CBS-1 and city licenses. Agri-processing and industrial businesses need environmental and union diligence.
Municipal business licenses and plumbing/electrical permits for machine change-outs are the live items. There is no statewide laundromat license. Card-system and coin-operator accounts do not always assign. A buyer who cannot get landlord consent to swap 80-pound washers does not have a capex path. Grease and lint-interceptor rules are municipal.
Labor and lease
What has to keep working on Monday after close in Decatur
For a laundromat in Decatur, the first labor question is: Documented vend and a lease with term.
ADM and related processing shape labor and trucking. Forsyth retail is a different buyer than a Decatur plant-services book.
Central Illinois processing city. Cash flow and customer concentration first.
Diligence
What a serious laundromat buyer will open
Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Documented vend and a lease with term; Machine age and parts support; Utility ratio a buyer can hold; Card-system control and theft discipline; Wash-dry-fold that is staffed, not the seller at 10 p.m..
Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Decatur business: Collection reports by machine and day, not a shoebox of coin; Washer/dryer age, remaining useful life, and parts support; Utilities as a percent of vend and any shared-meter fight; Lease, assignment, and whether the landlord wants the space back; Wash-dry-fold labor and whether it is the seller; Card-system ownership and cash-handling controls.
Buyer tool
SBA payment sketch for a Decatur laundromat buyer
Most Illinois owner-operator acquisitions use SBA 7(a). This is a payment sketch, not an approval.
SBA 7(a) loans are the most common financing for business acquisitions. Estimate your monthly payment and required down payment based on the purchase price.
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Loan Amount—
Est. Monthly Payment—
This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual SBA loan terms depend on your credit profile, the specific lender, and current market conditions. Contact us to connect with SBA-approved lenders in Illinois.
Sale steps
How to prepare a Decatur laundromat for sale
Recast this Decatur laundromat. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Decatur buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this laundromat pull a permit or see a patient in Decatur, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the Decatur trade area. Map customers against neighboring towns. Buyers will. A book that already covers those towns is larger than a book that stops at the Decatur limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Macon County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
Calendar the notices that apply here. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois laundromats hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Decatur file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in Macon County, including local closing steps.
Illinois laundromats typically sell for 3x–5x SDE. Machine condition and age, lease terms relative to revenue, and location are the primary value drivers.
Buyers focus on the lease rent-to-revenue ratio (ideally under 25–30%), machine age (buyers expect to invest in equipment for aging machines), vend prices relative to the local market, and utility costs. Card-based systems with revenue data are significantly easier to value than coin-only operations.
Both models sell. Attended laundromats with wash-dry-fold services often generate more revenue and are valued higher. Unattended operations appeal to semi-passive income investors. We position each model to its most likely buyer.
Revenue documentation is required by any lender. For cash-intensive businesses like laundromats, buyers and their lenders require water bills, electric bills, and tax returns to validate earnings.
Most Illinois laundromat sales close within 4–9 months. Well-maintained operations with favorable long-term leases tend to attract offers quickly.
Most Decatur asset sales file Illinois Form CBS-1 at least 10 business days before closing. Macon County does not use Chicago’s 45-day city notice unless the business also operates there. Municipal licenses and the lease still need their own calendar.
The first serious call in Decatur is usually an owner-operator or a neighboring shop, not a coastal fund. Macon County buyers already know the trade area. Seller financing and a clean lease matter more than a headline multiple.
No. The planning multiple for laundromats is a statewide starting point, not a Decatur appraisal. Buyers in Macon County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Laundromat Brokerage Near Decatur
We serve laundromats owners and buyers across Macon County and the surrounding region.